Improved Duster Flat Support

ABSTRACT

This is an improved cleaning tool, called a duster, whose offset hinging can rotate around an axis to shift its footprint outside the position of the cleaning surfaces.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Italian Patent Application 102017000054257, filed on May 18, 2017, and PCT Application PCT/IB2018/053305, filed on May 11, 2018, both incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an improved cleaning tool, more specifically to an improved duster.

BACKGROUND

With respect to what is stated in the aforesaid patent, the duster has the drawback that the thickness of the adjustable hinge of the inclination between the handle and the laminar plate is greater than the thickness of the plate and protrudes beyond the position of the dusting surface. This aforesaid positioning of the adjustable hinge with an axis corresponding to that of the plate entails, in fact, a considerable limitation to the use of said device, which cannot work freely on surfaces extending beyond the extension of the plate without the peripheral part of the adjustable hinge scraping along the floor.

There would be a possible solution in decreasing the diametric extension of the hinge, bringing its thickness within the overall dimensions of the plate, in this way compromising the reliability of the device for a unit load on the materials beyond their breaking strength.

Or, alternatively, another possible solution would be to increase the thickness of the plate beyond the maximum overall size of the hinge, in this way losing portability and the ease of movement of the manual cleaning tool.

Alternatively, it is possible to redesign the cleaning tool to overcome this problem by moving the adjustable hinge to one side so that it does not protrude beyond the dusting surface, however this introduces a further limitation of this cleaning tool, limiting the free dusting to just one side and using only half of the surface of the cloth that covers the duster.

In fact, it is very important that said duster can use the whole surface of the cloth that covers the duster on both sides of the dusting surface.

For all the aforementioned reasons, this cleaning tool has met with little success to date, even if there is great demand for a tool that can remove dust on large surfaces without the risk of scratching.

A further requirement is that this tool can use the entire cloth up against both laminar walls, being easily rotated to bring the larger surface and the opposite one against the surface to be cleaned from time to time.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A main object of this invention is to make available a duster that can overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.

An important object of this invention is that of making available a duster that can clean large surfaces without the risk of scratching them.

A different object of this invention is to make available a duster that can ensure the use of the relative cloth on both main and opposite surfaces of the plate.

An important object of this invention is that of easily adjusting the inclination even when working and without interfering beyond the position of the active surface of the plate.

Another object of this invention is to make available a duster whose devices for achieving the objects do not protrude beyond the position of the cleaning plates.

All the aforesaid objects and other objects which will become more apparent from the continuation of the description are realised with a duster characterised according to the characterising part of the appended claims.

In particular it is a duster with handle and a plate with a double active cleaning surface where said plate is attached to said handle by means of hinging devices with an adjustable inclination between handle and plate, where said hinging devices are offset with respect to the main axis of the midpoint of the plate and where there is, interposed between said hinging and said plate, releasable interconnecting devices between a first stable connecting position between said hinging plate, and a second position, detached, of the interconnecting devices for rotating said hinging devices around the main centre line axis of the of the plate.

Advantageously, said interconnecting devices comprise a seat within the plate, allowing all the cleaning surface to be available for supporting the cloth, possibly by enabling the insert inserted in the seat to arrive, in its overall width, up to the surface constituting its continuation without interruption.

Advantageously, said interconnecting devices include a seat in the profile of the plate, thereby allowing the entire cleaning surface to be continuous and without discontinuity for the support of the cloth, where the seat of the insert is closed on the four side walls of the plate.

Advantageously, said interconnecting devices are composed of an insert, fitted with retention devices with a section that is complementary to the transversal cross-section of the relative seat in order to slip in and come out with a sideshift movement with respect to the relative seat.

Advantageously said insert is restrained in its sideshift movement by a retainer that limits the travel of the said movement to what is sufficient for it to come out of its seat. Advantageously, said retention device comprises elastic devices for recalling said insert back into its seat after it has come out and rotated.

Advantageously, said retention device constitutes the linchpin and/or the rotation axis of said insert facilitating the correct extraction sideshift movement, the relative rotation and the subsequent insertion movement and repositioning movement of said insert into its seat.

Advantageously said insert includes catches that keep it united and fixed in the respective seat.

Advantageously said catches that have elastic devices whose movement, for their release and decoupling in the respective seats on the plate, are approximately orthogonal to the sideshift movement of the insert with respect to the relative seat.

These and other objects are all achieved by the duster of this invention according to the attached claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The technical characteristics of the invention, according to the aforesaid objects, can clearly be seen in the content of the claims below, and its advantages will become more readily apparent in the detailed description that follows, made with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment, which is purely exemplary and not limiting, in which:

FIG. 1 from a perspective view shows the duster of the invention without the cleaning cloth which covers it around the plate.

FIG. 2 shows what is set out in FIG. 1 from a side plan view that makes it easy to see the shifting of the hinging with respect to the main axis.

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the duster in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows a different sectional view of the duster in FIG. 1 that makes it easy to see the seat inside which are joined the insert and the retainer of said insert that connects to the hinging that adjusts the inclination.

FIG. 5 shows the duster of the invention from an enlarged prospective view, without the top cover, to highlight the catches of the insert inside the seat that is part of the plate.

FIG. 6 shows the duster of the invention from another sectional view which highlights the insert retention device and its function as a linchpin and rotation axis of said insert for the correct extraction sideshift movement from its seat.

FIG. 7 shows the duster in FIG. 1 with the insert shown outside its seat in the plate.

FIG. 8 shows the duster in FIG. 7 from a side plan view.

FIG. 9 shows an enlargement of the duster in FIG. 7

FIG. 10 shows what is shown in FIG. 9 after an initial rotation between the insert and the plate that leads, once the rotation of 180° is finished, to the overturning of the hinging with the shifting of its footprint onto the opposite side, outside the area of the cleaning surfaces.

FIG. 11 is an enlargement of the duster in FIG. 7 with no top cover, highlighting the retainer function which limits the excursion of the insert once out of its seat, with the possibility to rotate by overturning with respect to the main axis of the plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to the figures, a duster 1 is shown comprising a flat laminar element extended in length, called a plate 3, which is connected to and operated by a handle 2 by means of an adjustable hinge 4.

Said hinge 4 allows the angle of the handle 2 to be changed with respect to the plate 3.

Said hinge 4 is not on the main axis of the plate 3, but is offset to the side, so that the duster can slide freely on a surface to be cleaned without the risk that a protruding part of the hinge comes into contact with the surface, with possible scratching.

To address the fact that both the larger surfaces 9, 10 of the duster can be active cleaning surfaces, using both sides of the cloth positioned on them, the part of the hinge 4 that connects to the plate 3 is not fixed but can be detached and rotated, turning upside down the hinge 4 and bringing the space it occupies from a first side to a second side, opposite the first side with respect to the main axis of the plate 3.

This shifting of the space occupied by the hinge 4 turning it upside down, by means of a rotation of 180° with respect to the axis of the plate 3 is made possible by the fact that the part connecting the hinge 4 and the plate 3 is carried out using an insert 5 that can be inserted in an appropriate seat 8 in the plate 3, and which when needed can be extracted from the relative seat 8, made to rotate 180° and reinserted in the same seat 8.

In order to make this extraction and rotation of the insert 5 relatively easy and comfortable with respect to its seat 8, said insert 5 is joined to a retainer 7 that limits the excursion of the sideshift extraction movement to an extension equal to that of coupling, in such a way that in its maximum possible exit and limited by this retention device 7, said insert 5 can freely rotate.

The aforesaid rotation is also easily guided around the axis of the retention device 7, which could eventually constitute the rotation pin.

Finally, to facilitate the secure re-engagement of said insert 5 in coupling with its seat 8, the retention device 7, to which said insert 5 is joined, has elastic devices (not shown in the drawing) whose elastic action corresponds to an action contrary to the extraction movement of the insert 5 from its seat 8.

Said insert 5 is held and retained firmly within the seat 8 by one or more catches 6, the action of these catches 6 is to maintain a secure and solid connection between the insert 5 and plate 3, when said insert 5 is within its seat 8.

The relative retention action between insert 5 and plate 3, carried out by said catches 6, operates according to planes orthogonal to the sideshift movement of the insert 5 with respect to the seat 8.

Eventually, said movement of said catches 6 for the decoupling is countered by elastic devices. Advantageously said elastic devices, which hold the above-mentioned catches in place during normal cleaning operations, in order for the insert 5 to be extracted they need to be counteracted by the operator, until the catches are released; for the reconnection, however, when the insert 5 is being inserted into the relative seat 8, said elastic devices have inclined surfaces that connect to the walls of the seat 8, for tensioning along the insertion movement of the insert 5 inside the seat 8, and act, when the insertion is complete, shifting the catches 6 to the locking position.

To facilitate the understanding of the constitution and the coupling of the various parts, the drawing does not show a cover of the plate 3 that constitutes one of the support surfaces of the active cleaning surfaces 9, 10 against which the cleaning cloth is kept stretched.

Possibly said coupling between insert 5 and plate 3, instead of being completely contained within the footprint of the plate 3 in its own seat 8, it can also reach the plane of the outer surface 9, 10 of the plate 3, without protruding, and resulting in a part of said insert 5 forming a continuation of the cloth support surface. 

1. The improved duster having a handle and a plate with an active double cleaning surface, wherein said plate is connected to said handle by means of hinging devices with an adjustment of the inclination between the handle and the plate, wherein said hinging devices are spaced apart from the main central axis of the plate and where there are, interposed between said hinging devices and said plate, releasable interconnecting devices, composed of an insert and a relative seat, between a first stable position connecting said hinging devices and said plate and a second detached position of the interconnecting devices for rotating said hinging devices with respect to the main central axis of the plate.
 2. The improved duster of claim 1 wherein said interconnecting devices are composed of a seat within the plate, providing a double cleaning surface for supporting the cloth.
 3. The improved duster of claim 1 wherein said interconnecting devices consist of a seat inside the profile of the plate, allowing the entire double cleaning surface to be continuous and uninterrupted for supporting the cloth.
 4. The improved duster of claim 1 wherein said interconnecting devices include an insert with retention devices, with a section that is complementary to the transversal section of the relative seat for being able to slide in and come out with a shifting movement relative to the seat.
 5. The improved duster of claim 1 wherein said insert is restrained in its transversal movement by retention devices that constitute a retainer, limiting the travel of said movement to just enough to come out from the seat.
 6. The improved duster of claim 5 wherein said retainer consists of elastic devices for bringing back said insert into its seat after coming out of its seat and rotating.
 7. The improved duster of claim 5 wherein said retainer constitutes the pin and/or axis of rotation of said insert facilitating the correct transversal extraction movement, its rotation and subsequent insertion and repositioning of said insert in its seat.
 8. The improved duster of claim 1 wherein said insert consists of catches that hold it together and secure in the respective seat.
 9. The improved duster according to claim 8 wherein said catches have elastic devices whose movement, by their release and disconnection in the respective seats on the plate, are approximately orthogonal to the transversal movement of the insert with respect to the relative seat. 